Overleaf alternatives for writing LaTeX on a Mac

There are two different jobs here, and the right app depends on which one is yours. Writing a paper, a thesis or a CV as a .tex file that compiles to a PDF needs a real TeX setup: Overleaf in the browser, or on your Mac a TeX distribution and an editor. Writing notes with equations in them, class notes, a problem set or a work doc with a formula, needs an editor that draws LaTeX math, and nothing more.

Koi only does the second. It draws LaTeX equations inside its own documents and exports them to Word or PDF. It doesn't open .tex files, compile them, run BibTeX or use LaTeX packages. If you're writing a paper, look at TeXShop, Texifier, VS Code or Typst below.

We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about another app comes from its own site, docs or App Store page, checked October 21, 2026. We didn't run tests.

Overleaf is LaTeX in a browser: nothing to install, templates for journals and theses, co-authors in the same project, and an AI assistant for LaTeX. On its plans page, Free lets one collaborator into a project, keeps 24 hours of history and has the basic compile timeout. Student is $13 a month or $98 a year, Standard $25 a month or $199 a year, and Pro $45 a month or $399 a year, with a compile timeout 24 times longer and full history.

The pinch is offline. Overleaf's offline guide says free users can keep editing for up to 2 minutes without a connection, and paid users up to 10. Git, GitHub and Dropbox sync, the ways to work in your own editor and push back, are on paid plans. Free users can download the project as a ZIP and upload it again.

1. In Overleaf, download your project as a ZIP from the project's menu, and unzip it.
2. Install MacTeX from tug.org/mactex, or BasicTeX if space is tight. Allow time: the full package is about 6.4 GB.
3. Open TeXShop from the TeX folder in Applications, and open your main .tex file.
4. Click Typeset. The PDF opens beside your source, and you're working offline.
5. Back online, upload the changed files to Overleaf, or push them with Git on a paid plan.

For equations in your notes rather than a paper, in Koi:

1. Click New document on Koi's dock, or press ⌘N.
2. Type /equation and write the LaTeX, or type it between $$ and $$ in a line of text.
3. Click away and Koi draws it. Click it again to change it.
4. To share it, open the document's menu and choose Export, then Word or PDF, or Share… to send a PDF.

From each app's own site, checked October 21, 2026.

• A paper or thesis: Overleaf. Koi can't compile one.
• Equations in notes: both draw them. Koi draws them in a page with tables, charts and to-dos around them, and works offline.
• Numbering and references: Overleaf, with \label and \ref. Koi doesn't number equations.
• Output: Overleaf gives a PDF from your .tex. Koi gives Word or PDF of the page, and Markdown with $$…$$.
• Lectures: Koi records a class on your Mac and makes study notes and flashcards from it. Overleaf doesn't record.
• Working together: Overleaf. Koi has no sharing beyond sending a PDF.

• Free and offline, for real LaTeX? TeXShop with MacTeX.
• A nicer editor with a live preview? Texifier.
• You live in VS Code? LaTeX Workshop.
• Starting fresh and allowed to? Typst.
• Markdown with Zotero citations? Zettlr.
• Class or work notes with equations, charts and recorded lectures, on one Mac? Koi.

For notes apps that draw math, see the best notes apps with LaTeX for Mac. Turning lecture PDFs into cards? Here's how to make flashcards from a PDF on a Mac. Koi's plans are on the pricing page.